As of last week, we are proud parents of our first potty trained child (Now we only have to change one baby's bottom). The process took about two weeks to completely perfect. Our daughter now asks to use the potty no matter the location: home, gym, stores, and restaurants. While swimming this morning, she asked to use the potty three times. Then when she woke up from her nap, she independently went to the bathroom, got undressed, used the potty, wiped, and redressed.
HOW DID IT HAPPEN?
1.) At around 18 months old we began MODELING. We would let her in the restroom while we used the toilet. We would talk through the whole process each time, from lifting the toilet seat to flushing and washing our hands. After a while Daddy started asking for a little privacy. Now she asks for privacy too.
2.) During the past year, we have consistently encouraged her to EXPERIMENT with using the toilet. She sometimes would go a week or two without having any Number Two accidents.
3.) We attended a great Love and Logic parent training a few months ago. They recommended us using the following line when a child has an potty accident, "THAT'S OKAY, YOU WON'T DO IT WHEN YOU ARE BIG." That is all we said every time she had an accident. After a while when a child is ready, something clicks in their mind and they decide they want to be a big kid and try to avoid potty accidents.
4.) When we arrive at a restaurant or store we make an effort to first visit the restroom. "HERE IS THE RESTROOM. If you need to go potty, tell me, and we can go here."
5.) Two weeks ago when it seemed our daughter was READY TO COMMIT, we pulled out all the stops. Nana made a fancy poster to track daily progress. She received one sticker each time she went potty. We are not normally edible-reward parents, but we decided to also give her one M&M each time (We learned that the blue ones were the coveted ones. Using M&Ms also reinforced colors).
6.) DON'T LOOSE HEART. We tried a 3-day potty boot camp a month before her second birthday, but with limited success. We also tried again four months ago, but with short lived success. We knew she could do it, but she just wasn't ready to commit. Now, when she was ready, she was ready. Diapers out, undies in. HOORAY!
Have fun with it. It is a challenge, but well worth all the effort.
Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.
Cheers!